Depression is a disorder characterized by a combination of symptoms such as lowered mood, loss of energy, loss of interest, feeling of physical illness, poor concentration, altered appetite, altered sleep and a slowing down of physical and mental functions resulting in a relentless feeling of hopelessness, helplessness, guilt, and anxiety. Worldwide, depression is a major cause of disability and premature death. National Institute of Mental Health estimates prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD) as 6.7% of U.S. adult population, 56.8% of those with disorders are receiving treatment. Average-age-of onset of MDD is estimated as of 32 years old. The exact cause of depression is not known. Present treatment of depression consists of psychotherapy, antidepressant drugs, or a combination of both. However, there are no special nutritional requirements related to the dietary management of patients with depression disorders.
A great number of depressions are also accompanied by anxiety. Up to 85% of those with major depression were also diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. Anxiety is a disorder characterized by a combination of symptoms such as fear, panic or anxiety in situations where most people would not feel anxious or threatened. National Institute of Mental Health estimates prevalence of anxiety disorders as 18.1% of U.S. adult population, 36.9% of those with disorder are receiving treatment. Anxiety and depression are linked. Both depression and anxiety are the reaction to stress and may share common molecular mechanisms. Present treatment of anxiety consists of antianxiety drugs. However, there are no special nutritional requirements related to the dietary management of patients with anxiety disorders.
Water is an essential nutrient. Total water intake includes drinking water, water in beverages, and water contained in food. The adequate intake for total water was set based on the median total water intake from U.S. survey data as 3.7 and 2.7 liters per day for men and women, respectively. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. The natural water is a composition of nine water isotopologues (H216O, H217O, H218O, H16OD, H17OD, H18OD, D216O, D217O, D18O) formed by stable isotopes of hydrogen (H and D) and oxygen (16O, 17O, 18O), wherein content of major water isotopologue H2O (H216O) is 99.7317 molecular % (mol. %) and major deuterium-containing isotopologue HOD (H16OD) is 0.0311 mol. % (Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water, VSMOW). Rothman et al., J. Quant. Spectrosc. Radiat. Transfer, 1998, 60, 665. Rothman et al., J. Quant. Spectrosc. Radiat. Transfer, 2003, 82, p. 9. Because of process of evaporation and condensation of ocean water, HOD levels in natural water slightly vary on Earth district. Only exclusion is natural water of Antarctica, which water contains HOD at levels of about 0.0178 mol. % (Standard Light Antarctic Precipitation, SLAP). A majority of people reside at Earth districts, where they consume natural water with HOD levels from 0.0280 to 0.0311 mol. %. On a calculation basis, when consume 2.7 and 3.7 liters of natural water per day, women and men consume no less than 0.8 and 1.0 ml of HOD as the obligate nutrient per day, respectively.
We discovered that HOD is a highly undesirable nutrient for a subject suffering from depression and/or anxiety and HOD restriction may represent a special medically determined nutrient requirement, the dietary management of which cannot be achieved by the modification of the normal diet alone. Surprisingly, we found that mammals are highly sensitive to HOD levels in drinking water and even change of HOD content in drinking water within the range of its natural concentrations provides a significant effect on susceptibility to psychosocial stress and predisposition to the development of anxiety and depression. Thus, the dietary management of depression and/or anxiety can be achieved by restriction of HOD daily consumption.
It is an object of the present invention is to provide a medical food for the dietary management of depression and/or anxiety comprising a water containing from 0.0002 to 0.0278 molecular % of isotopologue HOD.
It is an object of the present invention is to provide a method of the dietary management of depression and/or anxiety comprising a step of administering to a subject in need thereof the medical food of the invention.
It is an object of the present invention is to provide a method of the treatment of depression in a subject in need thereof comprising steps of: (a) administering to the subject an antidepressant drug, and (b) administering to the subject the medical food of the invention.
It is an object of the present invention is to provide a method of the treatment of anxiety in a subject in need thereof comprising steps of: (a) administering to the subject an antianxiety drug, and (b) administering to the subject the medical food of the invention.